Ever wonder how some brands always seem ahead of the curve, jumping on the next big thing before everyone else?

Their secret is something called trendspotting – the practice of identifying emerging trends before they hit the mainstream.

Trendspotting is more valued than ever in 2025, as social media reacts to anything at lightning speed. Tapping into digital marketing trends – from unexpected collaborations to the use of AI – helps keep brands ahead of the game.

This guide explores what trendspotting is and how to do it well. We’ll look at social listening tools like Brandwatch and data trackers like Google Trends that help pinpoint rising topics.

We’ll also share tips on staying ahead of the curve – like analyzing consumer behavior data, monitoring online conversations, and tapping into customer feedback.

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What is trendspotting?Trendspotting is the art of noticing emerging patterns in culture, consumer behavior, or market data before they become widespread.

It’s about catching the early signals – those subtle shifts in conversations or metrics that hint at a coming change.

For marketers, trendspotting means observing and analyzing data (from social media buzz to sales figures) to predict what’s next and act on it before the trend peaks.

Software like Brandwatch Consumer Research helps marketers pull trend insights from millions of online sources through advanced social listening and analytics.

You’re able to spot emerging trends and align your campaigns or product choices with where consumer interest is headed rather than playing catch-up.

In short, trendspotting gives businesses a proactive edge in staying relevant and competitive.

Why trendspotting matters in 2025

Staying ahead of consumer and industry trends has always been useful, but in 2025, it’s absolutely critical.

We live in an era of information overload and instant communication, where a single viral post can spark a global movement.

Noticing trends like Gen Z’s shoe obsession or anticipating the next spike in Met Gala references is paramount to understanding the digital marketing landscape.

You might not want or need to jump on every trend emerging from X, Instagram, and TikTok – but you need to know what’s going on.

Trendspotting acts like an early warning system for your brand. Here are three big reasons it matters:

First-mover advantage

Spotting a trend early lets you act before others. Launching a product or campaign that aligns with an emerging trend can win you market share and media attention.

For instance, companies that noticed the remote work trend early were able to invest in video conferencing tools before anyone else. When remote work exploded in popularity, those early movers had already captured the market while others scrambled to catch up.

Agility and strategic planning

Trendspotting makes your business more agile. It injects current consumer insight into your planning process, so you’re basing decisions on where the market is going.

If data shows your customers gravitating toward eco-friendly products or a new social platform, you can pivot or innovate accordingly. This approach improves resilience because you’re less likely to be blindsided by change.

Avoiding overkill

Not all trends are good, and you don’t have to jump on every one. When a hashtag, image, or anything else goes viral, brands must choose whether to jump on or not. If everyone goes big on the trend, it risks overkill.

This happened in 2024 with the “Very Demure” trend that crashed as sharply as it has risen.

Savvy brands can use trendspotting software like Brandwatch to determine whether or not to jump on a trend. There are reputational risks associated with trend jumping, so awareness of them is paramount.

Identifying trends today means leveraging data from the places trends emerge: online conversations and search queries.

Two of the most useful approaches are social listening and Google Trends analysis.

Social listening for real-time insights

Social listening involves tracking online conversations on social media, forums, blogs, and other platforms to see what topics are gaining momentum.

A tool like Brandwatch Consumer Research uses AI to scan millions of posts to find patterns humans might miss.

For example, you might discover a sharp uptick in chatter about a new skincare ingredient or a sudden hashtag trend in your industry. Those early signals give you a chance to investigate and respond.

Social listening doesn’t just tally mentions – it also provides context by showing what people actually say and feel. This deeper level of sentiment analysis helps you understand why the trend is happening and how it connects to your brand.

>> Learn more about social listening in practice with our guide for SEO and content strategists

While social listening tells you what people are talking about, Google Trends shows you what people are actively searching for.

It’s a handy free tool that analyzes Google search data to identify topics with growing interest. You’re not going to get ultra-deep analytics, but you will see which search terms are rising in popularity on the internet.

Google Trends is great for catching early interest in topics that might not yet be all over social media. It also complements social listening – if you observe both a spike in online chatter and a rise in search volume around the same topic, you can be confident it’s a trend worth paying attention to.

Marketers succeed when preparing campaigns ahead of big events, such as the World Cup or the Academy Awards. Google search data will start increasing alongside a bigger volume of social media conversations, which flags that a trend is begging to emerge.

Using trend insights in marketing strategies

Spotting a trend is only half the battle – you also need to act on it. Here’s how trend insights can inform your strategies:

Marketing and content

Trend insights can spark timely, relevant marketing campaigns. If a topic or meme is trending and it fits your brand, you might create a quick social media post or a blog article to join the conversation.

If you know a big trend is coming up – perhaps because an event is on the horizon – then you can plan ahead and create a strategy to jump on it.

Trend marketing aims to boost engagement because you’re tapping into what your audience is already interested in. Just make sure your brand’s take is authentic and adds value.

Knowing what’s trending can also guide other marketing efforts, like ad targeting and influencer partnerships.

Branding

Not all trends are about people, products, and events. Some existing trends lurk in the background, like branding and styling. Font and color trends, for example, emerge monthly, and a brand’s success can often rest on how it's presented.

Brands may use an agency or employ a design team to develop a fresh, new look. It’s important to strike the right balance between long-term visual trends and short-term spikes.

For instance, the single-layered minimalism trend of the early 2020s already seems to have died.

Product

Trends should influence what you offer and how you operate. If your trendspotting efforts reveal a shift toward, say, sustainable materials or a new technology, use that industry insight in your product development.

Maybe it’s time to launch an eco-friendly line or integrate a popular new feature into your app – before your competitors do.

Business decisions

You can use trend data to validate bigger moves like entering a new market or pivoting your business model.

Align your long-term strategy with evolving consumer preferences so you’re always a step ahead. Again, a tool like Brandwatch Consumer Research is useful here because you can make business decisions based on real data and analysis rather than hunches.

Trendspotting tipsTrends never stand still, which means trendspotting is an ongoing effort. Here are a few tactics to help you stay ahead:

  • Analyze your customer data: Track your own customer data to spot unusual upticks or patterns in your sales, web analytics, or search queries. Cross-reference this with trendspotting data from your chosen software to see if there's a collaboration. A spike in interest or purchases around a certain product or topic could hint at a broader trend.
  • Monitor online chatter consistently: Keep an eye on discussions across social media, online communities, and review sites. Use CisionOne media monitoring to catch new themes across the media landscape and social listening from Brandwatch to spot sentiment changes. Sometimes, a trend starts in niche forums before hitting big platforms, so keep your eyes on Reddit and Pinterest as much as Facebook and Instagram.
  • Listen to customer feedback: Pay attention to reviews, surveys, and customer service interactions. Collate your data and analyze it to see what relevant trends emerge. If multiple customers start requesting the same thing or pointing out the same issue, they might be illuminating the next trend or need your business should address.
  • Don’t jump on every trend: Brands can kill trends when they jump on them too heavily. A hashtag, meme, or TikTok dance video may go viral, only for brands to muscle in and flood timelines with the same content. Ensure you track early trends and make a call on whether they align with your brand or not. Don’t just jump on every trend – social media users are unforgiving if they sense you’re being disingenuous.

By being proactive with these practices, you’ll build a “trend radar” for your brand. Over time, distinguishing fleeting fads from meaningful trends will become second nature.

Start trendspotting today

Trendspotting in 2025 is all about using software to track conversations and sentiment before they become mainstream. Reacting to trends is no longer good enough – brands need to anticipate the next big thing and jump on board before the trend burns out.

Brands can sometimes ruin trends by overindulging in them. Consumers – particularly on social media – like to feel trends develop organically.

If you want to stay ahead of the curve, lean into trends that suit your brand, and avoid reputational damage from jumping on bandwagons too late, then Brandwatch Consumer Research is the tool for you.

Request a demo and see how cutting-edge social listening can help you spot trends early and put your brand at the forefront of the conversation.